Love not War, Friend not Foe
by Ashla
Summary: First story Jessie and James run from Team Rocket who are hunting them down. But disaster strikes and love is being threatened. Will they stop Giovanni and save their love? Read to find out... Finished Plz R&R!
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: Please don't sue me! I'm kinnda broke and I don't own Pokémon anyway ^_^ There, no need to sue me now. 

Claimer: This story is belongs to me so no coping! 

A/N: Hey all! The name's ~Ashla~ and this is my first fan flick so forgive me if it sucks. Ohh, and if someone has a story like this one done already, note that I didn't copy it! I made this up by myself *Feels proud* Ahem, anyways, enough ranting. Enjoy the flick! 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: Jessie: 21, James: 21 

-----  
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #01  
----- 

"Jessie hurry! They're catching up to us!" James cried out to his red headed comrade who trailed behind him. 

Meowth was running on all fours ahead of them both. "Yeah, would yous two hurry it up" He called back to them before turning tail and running as fast as his legs could carry him. 

"I'm running as fast as I can! Do you have any idea how hard it is to run in these boots!" Jessie yelled back at James. She glanced back over her shoulder and wished she hadn't. The Team Rocket grunts were riding upon Ponyta and Rapidash and closing in fast. _'They are going to catch us for sure, we're doomed'_ She forced her tears back. 

James noticed the expression on her face and kicked himself inwardly _'I should have never brought her into this! She wouldn't be in the predicament if I wasn't so stupid!'_

**~ FLASHBACK ~**

_'Please don't fire us, please don't fire us'_ Jessie, James and Meowth repeated over and over in their minds as they nervously sat outside Giovanni's office. 

They had been on the trail of Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu - A.K.A. The Twerps - when they'd received an urgent call from the boss's office. A Charizard and a Dragonite had been sent out to pick them up and to bring them back to Team Rocket's HQ in Johto. They were only briefed on their arrival. 'Very urgent job needing to be done' was all they were told. 

They were seated and Jessie looked over at her two friends who she held dearest in the whole world, even though she hardly ever showed it. _'This team needs a tough guy and I guess it's me'_ was how she thought of it. Meowth sat there filing his claws and James was reading a comic book. Jessie shook her head at how immature James was, but that's what she liked about him. 

The sectary stood up from behind her desk. She was a tall and very beautiful young brunette. "The boss will see you now" The trio stood up and took a deep breath before walking through the oak door into Giovanni's office. He sat there, hands clasped together in front of him. 

"There you are. I'm calling all my agents in as I have a plan to be carried out" His deep voice spoke with no emotion. James shivered. "As you know, I have been gathering powerful pokémon for years now and I finally have enough..." 

"Enough for what Sir?" Meowth asked, glaring at the Persian that lay at Giovanni's side. 

"To start a Pokémon War!" 

All three were shocked at this response. They had always known that the boss wanted the world, but they didn't think by war. "Sir, do you really think a war is necessary?" James' voice was shaking slightly. Jessie felt the same way, as did Meowth. 

"Yes, a war is the fastest way to get what I want. And with all these powerful pokémon following my every command, it shouldn't be too hard. That's where you come in. You will be given brand new pokémon to battle with and your other pokémon will be taken for training" 

James and Jessie exchanged glances and placed a hand on their pokéballs. 

"And there will be no exceptions. Your loss of battles is the cause of your pokémon being weaklings" Giovanni's tone of voice didn't change as he stared harshly at them. 

James was first to respond. He stepped forward "Sir, our pokémon need no training and we're not giving them up to anyone, not even you" He clenched his hands in fists. 

Jessie was a little shocked and so was Meowth. James wasn't known to be able to speak to the boss without getting nervous and shaky. Giovanni shut his eyes. "Well then, I guess if you won't follow the rules, we'll have to expose of you as we don't want any of this leaking out" 

**~ END FLASHBACK ~**

_'This is all my fault'_ James scolded himself as they ran. Behind him, Jessie's foot got caught in an uprooted rock and she fell. James skidded to a stop and ran back to her. "Jessie, are you alright?" 

She looked up into his deep emerald eyes and saw the worry and concern. It couldn't help but make her feel warm inside. "I'm ok, I think" She pulled herself up and gasped when she stood on her right leg. "I think I twisted my ankle" 

James placed a muscular arm behind her back and the other behind her thigh. He lifted her up with ease. All their time spent building contraptions to capture Pikachu had build up his muscles, as he was the one that did the most work. "Don't worry Jessica, I'll get you out of this" He ran as fast as he could but it wasn't easy while carrying someone. 

Jessie wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt Butterfree flutter in her stomach but they soon vanished when a loud crashing noise was heard behind them. She turned her head in the direction to see an Onix crash through the trees. They had entered a forest, hoping to loose the grunts in the dense woodland, but with no such luck. She heard James curse angrily and looked at him. "What's wrong?" 

James stopped running and looked up. They had run into a dead end. Grunts and their pokémon behind them, and a cliff in front. James set Jessie down and she leaned on him for a little support. 

"What will we do now James?" Jessie clenched some of his white top, which was now covered in mud. She looked up at his handsome face that now held some cuts from braches hitting him as they ran. 

He looked down and couldn't help but admire her beauty. Her sapphire eyes shone in the moonlight and her long red hair hung around her face. "I don't know" His heart had sunk and he lowered his head, eyes closed. 

Jessie rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll get out of this somehow" 

James opened his eyes and nodded. "Meowth seems to already have gotten out of it" What he said was true. Meowth was nowhere in sight. There was the sound of trees falling and the two were suddenly faced with five grunts and an Onix towering above them. 

"Give it up, there's no way you can get away" The first grunt stated with a smug grin on his face. 

James stood his ground. "We're not going without a fight" He pulled out a pokéball and was about to toss it when the ground started to rumble beneath his feet. "What's going on?!" He cried in alarm. 

"It's that Onix, it's started an Earthquake attack!" Jessie fell over on her butt, her face covered in fear. 

"Onix, tackle that fool!" The grunt pointed to James. The Onix complied and dove at him. 

"JAMES!" Jessie screamed as the Onix crashed into him, sending his body flying through the air. He hit the cliff and fell into a crumpled heap. She no longer could hold it in and tears streamed down Jessie's face as she stared at James' still body. She crawled over to him and rolled him onto his back, placing his head on her lap. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, which was mud and blood caked. "Please don't leave me..." She sobbed and held him close. 

"Your turn missy" The Onix was now slithering it's stony self towards her. 

She shut her eyes tight. "I'm sorry James..." 

The Onix lifted its tail and was about to drop it upon her when... 

"WATER GUN ATTACK!" 

The Onix roared in pain as a large jet of water came from nowhere and slammed into it, knocking it out. It fell and hit the ground with a ground shaking thump. Jessie opened her eyes and looked towards where the attack had come from. 

"Who's there?" The grunt turned his Rapidash in that direction. His face was red with fury. "Come out of those shadows and face us!" 

As the figure stepped out from the shadows, Jessie gasped. "You have got to be kidding!" 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

So, what did you think? Please review to: pokemonbundle@hotmail.com Comments and criticisms welcome! Tell me what I do right/wrong so I can improve. Thanks to you for taking time to read my story ^_^ 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 12:00pm, Sunday 13th October 2002


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon and probably never will unfortunately 

Clamier: My story, not yours ^_^ 

A/N: Hey again ^_^ Just a little reminder at the start there about what happened last time. I won't rant on this time. On with the flick... 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: Jessie: 21, James: 21, Ash: 14, Misty: 15, Brock: 17 

-----  
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #02  
----- 

_Last time..._

She shut her eyes tight. "I'm sorry James..." 

The Onix lifted its tail and was about to drop it upon her when... 

"WATER GUN ATTACK!" 

The Onix roared in pain as a large jet of water came from nowhere and slammed into it, knocking it out. It fell and hit the ground with a ground shaking thump. Jessie opened her eyes and looked towards where the attack had come from. 

"Who's there?" The grunt turned his Rapidash in that direction. His face was red with fury. "Come out of those shadows and face us!" 

As the figure stepped out from the shadows, Jessie gasped. "You have got to be kidding!" 

----- 

Jessie's mouth lay open, as she watched none other than Ash Ketchum walk out from the shadows and into the moonlight. His Pikachu accompanied him, as usual, and so did a large water pokemon. Jessie recognised this as a Feraligatr, the final evolution of Totodile. Ash had grown much since he'd met Team Rocket for the first time four years ago in the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. The 14 year old now looked more mature, and kinda handsome Jessie had to admit. Jessie shut her mouth only to reopen it seconds later. "What are you doing here?" She blurted out. 

Ash gave his cute smile. "Meowth said you were in a bit of trouble, as always" Instead of his old worn blue jeans and jacket, he now wore baggy blue sports pants; black t-shirt and a red jacket. He'd retired his old Pokemon League cap and his black, spiky hair was a little longer than before. He'd become a very accomplished trainer over the years but that didn't deter Jessie, James and Meowth from trying to capture his pokemon. 

Meowth walked out and stood next to Ash. "Hey, face it, we need all the help we can get right now" 

"Meowth! I can't believe you asked the twerp of all people!" Jessie scowled at him. 

Meowth just shrugged and then saw James lying in front of Jessie. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF HO-OH HAPPENED TO HIM?!" He ran over and looked at James' motionless body. His breaths were coming in short ragged gasps and blood ran down his face from a large gash on his left temple. Both Jessie and James' uniforms were now mud and blood covered. 

Jessie nodded towards the Onix's unconscious form and sniffed back a tear. She ran her fingers through her hair pushing strands out of her face. 

Ash looked at them concerned. Even if they were enemies, his good nature caused him to care for everyone, including Team Rocket. "Is he... alive?" He swallowed hard. 

The grunt returned his Onix and stood in front of the other four Team Rocket grunts. "Enough of this! We were given precise orders from Giovanni to expose of these three losers and now I guess that you'll have to die also" He pointed at Ash as he spoke to him. 

Ash narrowed his eyes and glared menacingly at them. "Not in this life time pal. Pikachu, Feraligatr, let's show them!" "Pi, Pikapi" Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and landed on all fours, electricity sparking from his cheeks. Feraligatr punched the air and stomped forward to take its place next to Pikachu. 

Jessie turned her attention back to James. "Meowth, what will we do?" Looked to the cat type pokemon for guidance. 

"Well, foirst of all we need to get Jimmie away from here" 

Jessie agreed and pulled out a pokeball. She enlarged it and released the pokemon from within. The form of a large cobra snake appeared. Its purple scales shone and its forked tongue slipped in and out, tasting the air. "Charbok.." It looked at its trainer for its instructions. 

"Arbok, we need to get James away from here and we need your help to do it" Arbok nodded and lay itself next to James. It carefully wrapped its end around James' torso and lifted him off the ground, placing him on its back. Jessie held James' hand and kissed it lightly. "Please be ok, please live, I beg you James" She whispered to him, unsure if he'd heard or not. 

There was a loud crash as two of the grunts were slammed into a tree by Feraligatr's mighty mega punch. Ash spun to them. "Get him out of here. There's a small cave not far from here. I'll meet you there. Now GO!" Ash pointed in the direction of the cave he spoke about and turned his attention back to the battle. The grunts were recovering quickly and starting to pull out pokéballs. "We will teach you what happens to nosey little brats who interfere with Team Rocket business," croaked one, now slightly hoarse from yelling. Ash gave Jessie and Meowth another glance before being pulled into a fierce battle. 

Jessie instructed Arbok on where to go and ran along side it while holding onto James. Meowth followed closely behind. It wasn't long before the cave came into sight. "I'm not sure Meowth. Are you sure we can trust the Twerp?" 

Meowth pondered on this before answering. "Jess, I know we ain't best of buddies with the Twerp, but he'd never do anything real bad to us, it's not his style" 

"I suppose you're right" 

"That's right" Did his little pose like he did at the end of their motto. 

Jessie ignored this action and entered the cave with Arbok and James. A light drizzle started to fall outside and it soon turned into a downpour. Meowth ran in and grumbled. "I hate wet rain" Shook himself off. 

Arbok coiled itself around the trio to keep them warm and Jessie held James close. _'Hurry up Twerp, James is getting worse,'_ James' condition was indeed worse and Jessie was getting anxious. An explosion was heard outside and soon a slight ping from the sky. The words 'blasting off' faded into the night and the sound of thundering rain once again took over. Meowth's ears pricked and he looked towards the entrance. "I hear something coming" Soon a figure entered the cave, soaked from the rain. 

"That's them taken care of" There was the sound of a pokeball opening and the cave lit up as a Quilava materialised. Pikachu shook itself and wandered over to Quilava's flame to warm up. Ash went over and crouched next to James. After a moment he stood up. "I've got to get Misty and Brock. I'll be back in a flash" He darted out of the cave, leaving Quilava and Pikachu behind. 

Jessie, under other circumstances, would have gone for the pokemon but her concern was more on James. The two 21 year olds had met years ago and had never been apart. Yet, no matter how much time they spent together, Jessie could never gather up the courage to tell him how she felt. She was sure that James didn't feel the same. After all, she was rude, obnoxious and very violent. _'He'd never feel the same way so I'd be better off keeping my feelings from him, to save us against hurt'_ She was more afraid of loosing him than being hurt. 

Ash soon returned with Misty and Brock in tow. They had been worried sick about Ash after he was missing for almost an hour. He explained that he'd been getting firewood when Meowth came out of nowhere. He was frantic and unable to calm down. Ash finally made sense of the pokemon's ramblings and went to the rescue. Brock, after consulting his 'trusty, never failed' map, found that there was a city not too far away with a hospital. Using their pokemon, it wasn't long before they arrived at the hospital. James was immediately taken to the intensive care unit and the gang were told to wait in the waiting room. They tried to get Jessie to tell them why they were being attacked but she remained silent. Meowth was curled up snoozing next to a heater. 

Two nerve racking hours later a doctor came out from the intensive care wing and headed towards them. Jessie stood up and ran over to him. "Is James alright?" 

"Well, he received a very bad blow indeed and..." 

"JUST IS HE ALRIGHT!?" Jessie burst out, grasping the doctor's collar tightly and pulling at him. 

Meowth woke suddenly from the outburst and ran to Jessie. "Whoa, take it easy Jess. The doc here is trying to tell you!" 

"Ohh alright..." She let him go and stepped back, looking at the ground. 

The doctor gave a little cough and straightened himself up before continuing. "As I was saying, he's after receiving a lot of damage, particularly to his head and I'm afraid that..." 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

Heehee, cliffhanger ehh? Please review, all good and bad comments welcome. Please, just one review! If I don't get reviews, means there's no one reading it so there wouldn't be much need to continue. That or the story isn't very good. So it's up to you peeps. Thanks for taking time to read my story ^_^ 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 12:00am, Thursday 17th October 2002


	3. Part 3

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't own Pokémon. 

Claimer: My story, no coping. 

A/N: Hey again. I'm going to continue with my story, reviews or not, but don't stop sending them! I haven't got any yet *Looks at empty mailbox* On with the story before I start ranting. Ohh by the way, did you hear about.... *Is dragged away from the keyboard* 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

~*~*~*~*~*~ = Change in time/place 

Ages: Jessie: 21, James: 21, Ash: 14, Misty: 15, Brock: 17 

-----  
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #03  
----- 

_Last time..._

Two nerve racking hours later a doctor came out from the intensive care wing and headed towards them. Jessie stood up and ran over to him. "Is James alright?" 

"Well, he received a very bad blow indeed and..." 

"JUST IS HE ALRIGHT!?" Jessie burst out, grasping the doctor's collar tightly and pulling at him. 

Meowth woke suddenly from the outburst and ran to Jessie. "Whoa, take it easy Jess. The doc here is trying to tell you!" 

"Ohh alright..." She let him go and stepped back, looking at the ground. 

The doctor gave a little cough and straightened himself up before continuing. "As I was saying, he's after receiving a lot of damage, particularly to his head and I'm afraid that..." 

----- 

There was a pause that lasted just a second, but it seemed longer for Jessie. 

"I'm afraid that..." The doctor repeated "That the young man has slipped into a coma" 

The trio gasped in horror and Meowth stumbled back, speechless for once. Jessie stood there unmoving. She was in shock. Her world seemed to stop as her mind tried to make up excuses for the predicament. _ 'Maybe the doctor got it wrong. Maybe James is just sleeping, yeah that's it'_

"Would you like to see him Miss?" The doctor asked Jessie. 

"I..." She looked to the ground, feeling all choked up. Meowth stepped in. 

"We'd like to see James Doc" The doctor looked at Meowth with an expression Meowth was well used to. "Yeah, yeah, I can talk. So what about Jimmie?" 

"I'm afraid that no pokemon are allowed into the wards" 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT ALLOWED IN?!" Meowth growled, extended his claws and advanced towards the doctor. 

"Ehh Miss, please control your pokemon or I will have to call security" He stepped away from Meowth. "I'M NOBODY'S POKEMON!" 

Jessie snapped out of her trance and picked up Meowth. "I'll see him and Meowth will cause no more trouble" 

"But Jess..." Meowth pleaded with Jessie to bring him along. "After all, James is my partner too" 

"Rules are rules Meowth and you're not to break them" 

"That's sure a switch. When have you ever listened to rules?" 

Jessie ignored him and turned to Ash and co. "Watch him, I shouldn't be long" Held him out towards Ash. 

"Ehh, sure" Ash took Meowth in his arms and looked at Jessie with total confusion. 

"JESSIE! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Meowth yelled angrily at her. "You know I am well capable of mindin' myself" 

Jessie turned and followed the doctor into the ward where James was. She heard Meowth grumbling behind her. "This is so unfair" She grinned, knowing how much the cat pokemon hated being left out of things. 

She was lead to a room with a window looking in. She swallowed hard at what she saw. 

"You can go in if you'd like" 

She nodded and slowly opens the door and entered. Walked over to the only bed in the room where a still body lay. Machines beeped and wires lead from them to James. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Ohh James..." She choked and held his hand, squeezing it tightly but getting no response. Took one more look at him and couldn't take it anymore._ 'He might never wake up, never!'_ Next thing Jessie knew, she was running from the hospital as fast as she could, tears stinging her eyes. Meowth's voice could be heard behind her calling her name, but she took no heed. After running non-stop for over five minutes, she entered a tranquil park and collapsed at the base of a fountain. Burying her face in her hands she sobbed miserably. 

Meowth found her soon afterwards. Her face was tearstained and her eyes red. He felt for her and knew her sorrow. "Jess?" 

She wiped her eyes and blew her nose on a tissue. "It's all my fault Meowth" 

"What?! Don't be acting the fool Jess. Jimmie was attacked by those grunts not you! We're all victims here" 

"But what did I do to help?" She shot an angry glare at him. Meowth backed away a step. "All I did was stand there while they attacked him! I could have helped but I didn't!" Tears were starting to roll down her rosy cheeks again. She continued to knock herself down until Meowth had had enough. 

"ENOUGH!" He yelled and leapt at Jessie. He scratched her across the face. "YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME GOT THA?" Lowered his voice. "Stop hitting yourself over this. The boss's plan needs to be stopped and James needs us right now so quit wallowing in self pity and help!" 

Jessie stared at the ground and nodded. "You're right Meowth. James needs someone he knows right now" She stood up and slowly made her way back to the hospital with Meowth. "Ohh, and I wouldn't call him 'boss' anymore. Doubt we're still considered part of Team Rocket" Meowth agreed. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

A week had passed since James was first admitted to the hospital and his condition was not much better. His nasty wounds had been stitched and bandaged carefully and were healing well, but he remained in a coma. Ash, Misty and Brock had been filled in on Team Rocket's goings on and were heading to the police station to report it all. "And remember, you overheard it on the streets, not from us" Meowth told them for the hundredth time. 

"We know Meowth, we know" Misty sighed. "Can we please go now? I don't like hospitals much" "Togepiiii" Her little egg pokemon chirped in. 

"Alright, keep your hair on" Ash sounded fed up. The trio left the hospital and headed off to Goldenrod Police Station. They had called, but they needed to go down and make an official statement in Johto's main station. 

Inside the ward Jessie sat next to James. She had gotten rid of their Team Rocket uniforms and was now wearing a black mini skirt and a yellow top with a low front. Meowth had suggested she should cut her hair but Jessie wouldn't think of it. "My hair is my crowing glory! I'd never part with it!" Meowth had that line pounded into his head with the aid of Jessie's trusty fan. She rested her head on the bedside and sighed. Raised her head to a rustling sound outside the window. Meowth climbed up and in the window, something he'd done a lot of during the last week. 

"Any change Jess?" Jumped and landed at the base of the bed near James' feet. Sat down and curled his tail around him. 

Jessie solemnly shook her head. "Ohh I wish he'd hurry and wake up so that we can get away from here. Team Rocket will be looking for us and we're hanging around here too long" 

"Why don't you kiss him? That would get him up in record timing" He grinned smugly. 

"WHAT!? Why you cheeky little..." 

"Ah, ah, ah Jess, no language" He waved a finger at her. 

"I'll show you language!" Stood up and grabbed Meowth by the scruff on his neck. She stood at the base of the bed with her back to James. "Now you listen! I would never kiss James in a million years!" 

"Ohh come on! It's so obvious that you like him!" 

"I DO NOT LIKE JAMES! HE'S AN IMMATURE, BRAINLESS, WEAK, FICKLE-MINDED LITTLE DORK THAT WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO GET HIMSELF INTO INTENSIVE CARE BY CONFRONTING AN ONIX!" She gasped for breath. A low voice spoke up behind her. 

"So that's what you think" 

Jessie turned around to see James sitting upright in the bed. His eyes were full of pain and heartbreak. She let Meowth go and stood speechless. "James I..." 

"Don't say anything, you have said enough. Please leave" 

"But..." 

"I asked you to leave Jessie" James stared at the sheets and gripped them tightly. He voice was shaking as he spoke. Meowth glared at her with a disgusted expression. 

A lump formed in her throat. She turned and left the room, tears streaming down her cheeks. She left the hospital and kept walking through the rest of the day. 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

So how was it? Please let me know what you think ^_^ All reviews gracefully accepted, flames included. Till next time! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 7:45pm, Tuesday, 22nd October 2002


	4. Part 4

Disclaimer: It's tempting to say, but I don't own Pokémon. 

Clamier: No taking what isn't yours. I'll sue ya if you do! Heehee ^_^ 

A/N: I don't really have much to say. But I would like a review of some kind. I've gotten none yet, not even flames! This doesn't make me feel to good :( Well, on with the story. 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: Jessie: 21, James: 21, Cara: 22 

-----  
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #04  
----- 

_Last time..._

"I DO NOT LIKE JAMES! HE'S AN IMMATURE, BRAINLESS, WEAK, FICKLE-MINDED LITTLE DORK THAT WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO GET HIMSELF INTO INTENSIVE CARE BY CONFRONTING AN ONIX!" She gasped for breath. A low voice spoke up behind her. 

"So that's what you think" 

Jessie turned around to see James sitting upright in the bed. His eyes were full of pain and heartbreak. She let Meowth go and stood speechless. "James I..." 

"Don't say anything, you have said enough. Please leave" 

"But..." 

"I asked you to leave Jessie" James stared at the sheets and gripped them tightly. He voice was shaking as he spoke. Meowth glared at her with a disgusted expression. 

A lump formed in her throat. She turned and left the room, tears streaming down her cheeks. She left the hospital and kept walking through the rest of the day. 

----- 

The sky was dull and full of black storm clouds. Rain poured down from the heavens and soaked the land beneath. A lone figure of a twenty one year old female stood and took its onslaught. Her face was wet but not from the rain, but from tears of sorrow. Only hours ago did she loose her temper and lied about how she felt about her one true love. Now she stands alone with a heavy heart. "What a tangled web we weave when we try to deceive. I sure got myself stuck in that one" 

A girl around the age of twenty-two was walking along under her umbrella when she noticed her. She was a tall girl with long brunette hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Curious as to whom Jessie was, she went over. "Excuse me?" 

Jessie jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the girl. She looked at her. "Yes?" 

The girl saw the sorrow written on Jessie's face and frowned. "You're going to catch your death of cold out here, especially in what you're wearing" Referred to Jessies mini-skirt and revealing top. 

"Not that my cold heart hasn't died already" Jessie mumbled under her breath. 

"Pardon?" 

"Ohh nothing" She lowered her gaze to the ground. She felt the rain stop falling on her and looked up. The girl was holding the umbrella over her and smiling warmly. 

"Come on, let's get out of this storm. You can come to my house unless you have somewhere else to be" 

Jessie shook her head. "I have nowhere to be right now. Thank you" 

"No problem. I'm Cara, nice to meet you" She offered her free hand. 

"Jessie, pleased to meet you" She shook her hand. They set off towards Caras home with not many words spoken between them. Jessie didn't feel like talking right then and Cara got the message. 

"Well, here we are" She said after about ten minutes. Jessie looked at the house in awe. 

"It's so beautiful!" The gardens were full of colourful flowers, so bright that the rain couldn't dampen the colour. The house itself was a cute little, yellow bungalow with white windows. Cara turned the key in the front door and pushed it open. 

"It's not too much, but I love it here. Please come on in and dry off" 

"Thank you Cara" She stepped in and smiled. The interior was just as warm and welcoming as the outside of the house. Cara led Jessie to a cosy sitting room and soon had a warm fire going. She left the room to get Jessie some clothes so that she could change out of the wet ones she was wearing. Jessie stared into the flickering flames, her eyes full with remorse. _'How could I have said that? I can always lie, but why can I not tell the truth?'_

**~ FLASHBACK ~**

The thirteen-year-old girl stood in front of the gates of a huge private school. Her father stood behind her grinning proudly. "You can do Jessica. You're a smart girl, getting in here should be a snap" His deep voice spoke with such authority that it would make anyone listen. "Now go on in and show them who you are" 

"Yes Daddy" Jessie left her father there and ran into the building. As soon as she stepped in the doors she was surrounded with people around her age, some younger. She was pushed around and bumped into so many times, it was as if the people didn't even see her. She finally made her way to a quiet side of the hall and sat down. Sighing with relief she watched the crowd. She noticed one teen boy being treated the same was she had been. One boy bumped into him rather roughly and knocked him down. Jessie jumped up and ran over to him. He sat there whimpering and hugging his knees to his chest, hiding his face. At first Jessie thought he was being a baby. 

"You don't have to stand for that" 

The boy looked up at her and she seemed to freeze. He had the most entrancing emerald green eyes she had ever seen. His shoulder length, blue hair fell nicely down the sides of his face. She continued to stare at him before he tilted his head and gave her a strange look. 

"Excuse me Miss, why are you staring at me like that?" 

She snapped out of her trance and shook her head. "Ohh, no reason" She held out her hand and helped him up off the ground. 

He sniffed and scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. My.. my name is James" 

"I'm Jessica, but most people call me Jessie" 

"That's a lovely name" 

Jessie blushed suddenly and lowered her eyes. James suddenly realised what he'd just said and turned a shade of bright red. He started to fidget around. A bell was rung and ever ones eyes turned to the top of the hall. There stood some very official looking people. 

"Welcome all you hopeful people. Now as you all should know, not everyone can get into Pokemon Tech so to narrow the entrants, there is an entrance exam. This will be held tomorrow here in the main hall. All those wishing to enter must pass this exam. Good luck and we shall see you all tomorrow" 

"A test? I didn't know there was going to be a test!" Jessie looked over and saw that James was thinking the same thing she was. Jessie grinned smugly. "Well I don't need to worry. I'm the smartest you can get so I won't need to study for this" 

James smiled. "Me neither. Emm Jessie? Would you... like..." He pulled at his collar. "Would you like to go out with me tonight, since neither of us needs to study" He was blushing again. 

"I'd love to go out" She smiled happily at him. Her heart was all a flutter as the two arranged to meet that night then made their partings. 

That night the two teens partied until early morning. Afterwards, both lay down in their beds in the hotels they were staying at and smiled at the ceilings, thinking of each other. 

The next morning arrived all too soon and the exam loomed before them. Jessie entered the hall and scanned around. She smiled when she found who she was looking for and headed over to him. He was staring out a window with a piece of paper clasped in his hands. Jessie thought he looked like he was in Clefairy-land. Grinned to herself and jumped at the desk. 

"Whatcha looking at?" 

James yelped and jumped in his seat. He quickly shoved the piece of paper into his pocket and looked at her, blushing slightly. "Ehh, nothing" 

"Ohh sure, that's believable" She smiled at him and he returned the smile. There was the ring of the bell and everyone took his or her seats. Jessie sat in front of James and the Principle of the school started to speak. Soon their exam was under way and before they knew it, it was time up. Jessie and James ate their meals outside on the grass and spoke about themselves. James told Jessie of how he hated living the upper-class life and how he wished he were like other people. 

"Having money couldn't be too bad. It's better than having none at all" 

"I know, but my parents are driving me crazy! I can't take much more of their complaining" James kicked a stone. Jessie sighed. 

"At least you have both your parents" Her eyes seemed to dull as a sad memory came to mind. "My mother died while on an assignment when I was just a kid and my dad isn't 'Worlds Best Father' either" 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean too..." He stared at the ground. 

"That's alright, you didn't know" After a few moments of silence she pepped up. "Come on James, those exam results should be up on the notice boards by now" Before he could say anything she had grabbed his hand and was pulling him into the hall. There was already a large crowd of people around the notice board. Jessie stood behind them and frowned. "We'll never get to see them at this rate" 

"Yeah, but could you please let go of my hand, I think you're stopping the circulation" 

Jessie looked at his hand and quickly let go. "Whoops. sorry" She didn't realise she was holding him so tight, must be her nerves. 

"S'ok" He nursed his hand until the feeling came back. They hung around until most of the people had left before approaching the notice board. 

"I bet we're near the top along with the best scores" Jessie boasted. She put a finger on the notice and ran her finger down along it looking for her name. Her heart dropped as her finger ran down the page. It wasn't until she got to the bottom did she see her name. She felt like the ground had dropped beneath her. Her name, along with James', was at the very bottom, the lowest scores! "This can't be right!" 

"But I'm afraid it is little Miss" 

They spun around to face the principle. He watched them from behind the frames of his glasses. "In fact, you two had made a new record as to who had the lowest score! Your grades are the lowest this school has ever seen! You're not welcome here so please leave" He stared at them fiercely which made them uncomfortable. They gathered their stuff and left as fast as they could. When they got outside Jessie turned to James. 

"Who needs them or their school of snobs! Lets run away and make our own lives! The way we want them!" Jessie surprised herself a little at that idea. _ 'Where did that come from? He'll never go for it'_

James smiled. "Yeah sure. I don't like my life, you're not to happy with yours so let's start anew. Let's go!" 

Jessie smiled and she cheered inwardly. If there was anyone she would like to run away with, it would have to be James. Her overactive imagination took over for that slight moment, and it was because of that that they ran away from their homes and joined a biking gang, which they later left to join Team Rocket. 

**~ END FLASHBACK ~**

"Who knows what would have happened if we had studied that night" 

"What night?" 

Jessie jumped. She looked up and Cara standing there. "How long have you been standing there?" 

"Not long. You were mumbling to yourself about something. I didn't mean to intrude" Her face fell. 

"Don't worry about it, I was just... thinking" She looked back at the fire. 

"Ohh, okay. Well, here are those clothes I went to get" She handed Jessie a pair of white sports pants, a red t-shirt and a jacket. "You look about my size so they should fit. I'll leave you to get changed. I'm going to make some dinner and I hope you'll join me" She smiled again and headed into the kitchen. 

Jessie smiled. _ 'She's a nice person. I wish I had friends like her'_ She got changed and headed into the kitchen. There was a lovely meal out on the table. "Ohh wow! This looks delicious!" 

"Well Jessie, you're the first person I've had over for dinner in months. I don't get to many visitors and I don't have many friends around here" She frowned as she placed a dish on the table, full of soft, fluffy mashed potatoes. Jessie's mouth watered. During dinner, the two girls chatted away and it continued well after dessert, which Jessie thought was divine! Vanilla ice cream covered in hot chocolate fudge, yummy! By midnight, they had told each other almost everything about their lives and were the best friends either had ever had, even if they had only met about seven hours ago. 

"So this James guy is in hospital?" 

"Yes and he hates me for what I've done" Jessie twisted a piece of cloth in her hands. 

"Jessie, if he's the same guy that you have been telling me about, you can't just give him up!" 

Looked at her. "But... what I said" 

"Never mind what you said. You didn't mean it so go over there and talk it out. I know you like that guy" 

Jessie opened her mouth to object but Cara interrupted her before she even got started. 

"AND don't try to object. That's what got you into this mess in the first place" 

It was almost two in the morning before Cara finally convinced Jessie to go to the hospital and talk to James. 

"It will all work out, you'll see" 

Jessie nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you" 

Cara laughed. "You have thanked me enough for one day. Let's just get some sleep and you can go see him tomorrow" 

"Sounds good to me" Both girls headed off to bed then. Jessie slept in Cara's guest room and had borrowed a pair of PJs from her. Jessie smiled in the darkness of her room. _ 'Tomorrow, I will sort this out' _ She turned over and soon fell into a deep slumber. 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

Whoa, that's the longest one yet. The parts seem to get longer as I go along. I kinda got carried away with that flashback of when they met. I had to remind myself that that was a flashback and not the story. Well, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it ^_^ Thanks for taking time to read it and please review if you can. Only a couple of words to make me happy ^_^ Until next time, bye byes! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 8:40pm, Tuesday, 29th October 2002


	5. Part 5

Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine, no matter how much I wish it was. 

Clamier: Don't take what isn't yours. My story. 

A/N: First of all I'd like to say, COOL! My story actually got BIC! Thanks to anyone that voted ^_^ Ok, next thing is that I'm sorry that this part took so long to do, but I was kind of stuck for ideas. 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: Jessie: 21, James: 21, Cara: 22 

-----  
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #05  
----- 

_Last time..._

It was almost two in the morning before Cara finally convinced Jessie to go to the hospital and talk to James. 

"It will all work out, you'll see" 

Jessie nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you" 

Cara laughed. "You have thanked me enough for one day. Let's just get some sleep and you can go see him tomorrow" 

"Sounds good to me" Both girls headed off to bed then. Jessie slept in Cara's guest room and had borrowed a pair of PJs from her. Jessie smiled in the darkness of her room. _ 'Tomorrow, I will sort this out' _ She turned over and soon fell into a deep slumber. 

----- 

It was late in the morning when Jessie woke up. She groaned as the sun shone through the window and into her face. After a couple of minutes she made her way to the bathroom. She washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. _'Well, today is the day'_ She got dressed and went downstairs. She found Cara reading a magazine in the living room. "Morning Cara" 

Cara lifted her head from her magazine and smiled. "Almost good afternoon. You sure sleep in" 

"Yeah well, the bed was really comfortable" She hadn't told Cara about how she, James and Meowth used to sleep, on park benches usually. That night sleep is what she really needed. "What are you reading?" 

"Ohh nothing much. Want some breakfast?" 

"That would be great" Jessie hadn't realised until then that she was hungry. 

"Alright, toast and eggs ok?" Cara folded her magazine and dropped it on the coffee table in the middle of the room. She headed out to the kitchen. 

"Toast and eggs are fine" Jessie followed her in. "I should be paying you for this" 

"No you don't. You are the only person to actually have a chat with me since I moved here. That's worth a lot to me" She smiled at Jessie and turned on the stove. 

"Well, if you insist" Inside Jessie was relieved. The fact was that she didn't actually have any money with her. She could go and pick up her last pay check, but she was afraid that she'd be found. She helped Cara out in the kitchen and afterwards sat down at the table to eat her breakfast. Cara sat across from her with a mug of tea, which she sipped now and then. 

"Are you going to see James today?" She placed her mug on the table. 

Jessie had finished and took a drink of her coffee. She wiped her mouth and looked into the mug. "When I woke up I was ready to go, but now I'm not too sure" 

"But you should. It would be a shame to throw away what you had over a slight misunderstanding" Cara rested her elbows on the table. 

"I know that, but it's just that I'm..." She trailed off and swallowed hard. 

"You're afraid of loosing him aren't you?" 

Jessie looked up at Cara with slight surprise. _'How could she know?'_ Cara's face was emotionless, but her eyes betrayed her feeling of sadness. "Cara, did something like this happen to you?" 

Cara nodded simply and took another sip of her tea. "It was a couple of years ago. I had a lover and we were great together, but one day I said something spiteful and I didn't even mean it. I only said it because I was jealous after he had been hanging out with his friends more than he was with me. He took what I said to heart and left me. I couldn't stand being in the same town as him so I moved here. It's been hard but I've started to get over it. The pain isn't going to go away though" She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked over at Jessie. "Trust me, it hurts a lot to loose the one you love over a lie than over the truth. If you had meant the things you had said then it mightn't hurt forever. Go and patch it up before it's too late" 

Jessie leaned across the table and grabbed Cara's hands in hers. "I'm sorry for what happened to you but you're right. I'd never forgive myself for loosing James over a lie. I will go and talk to him" 

Cara smiled. "That's more like it. Now let me see" She stood up and walked around the table. She pulled Jessie up and looked her over. 

"What are you doing?" Jessie asked confused as Cara walked around her. 

"Well, if you're going to stun James you'll need something better than that to wear. Come on, make-over time!" She grabbed Jessie's hand and dragged her up to her room. For the next few hours the two girls sat on the bed giggling like little school girls while putting make-up on each other. 

"Ohh hurry up Jessie, I'm dieing to see what you look like!" Cara called from outside the bathroom. 

"Alright I'm coming!" The door opened and Jessie came out. Cara squealed in delight. 

"I was right! That dress of mine does look good on you" 

Jessie looked herself over in a full length mirror. Cara had given her a pale blue dress to try on and Jessie was surprised at how different she looked. The dress was kind of loose fitting and Jessie was used to tight fitted clothes. Her hair was brushed out and Cara had forced her not to use hairspray on it. Jessie's hair was actually flat and ran down her back. She had it tied in a high pony-tail. She twirled around and laughed happily. "I feel like a new woman!" 

Cara laughed. "Well, I'd say that you are ready now" 

She sighed and nodded. "It's now or never. But Cara, would you please come with me? I couldn't go in there alone" 

She nodded. "If that's what you want. I'll be ready in a couple of minutes. Cara entered her room and closed the door. She came out a little later dressed in white jeans and a red t-shirt. She handed Jessie a white cardigan and pulled a blue sweater on herself. "Now we're set" 

Jessie took a deep breath and the two headed to the hospital. 

~*~*~ 

Jessie looked up at the tall building in front of her. She was suddenly overcome with regret all over again. She turned to Cara. "I can't!" 

"Yes you can Jessie. Just take a deep breath and go for it!" She grabbed Jessie's shoulders and shook her a little. 

"What if he hates me? What if he never wants to see me again! What if..." 

Cara cut her off. "Those are all 'what ifs.' You'll never know unless you go through with this!" 

She took a deep breath and nodded. She turned to the main door and entered the hospital with Cara not far behind. She walked up to the reception. "Excuse me?" 

A short woman looked up from a bundle of papers. "Yes? Can I help you Miss?" 

"Yes. There is a man here that was in a coma and woke up yesterday. He was in the intensive care unit and I was just wondering if he's still there" Jessie's stomach was in knots. 

"Hold on a second please" The woman started to rummage through papers. "What was the man's name?" 

"James" 

The woman pulled out a small file and opened it. She looked it over and then turned to Jessie. "Did this man have green eyes and blue hair?" 

"Yes that's him. Where can I find him?" 

"You won't I'm afraid. Not in this hospital" 

"What do you mean?" Jessie felt her heart skip. _'Why wouldn't James be here? Ohh I do hope nothing happened to him'_

The woman turned back to the file. "He was left out today. The doctors gave him a full look over after he woke up and he spent the night. After another quick check-up this morning he was given permission to leave. He's a very lucky man to have been in such good health after being in a coma for a week" She turned to the girls. "I'm afraid that I don't know where he has gone but he did leave a note for someone. What's your name?" 

Jessie couldn't believe it. James was alright! Out and about, fit as a fiddle! Cara tapped her shoulder and Jessie snapped out of it. "Ohh sorry. My name's Jessie" 

"Yes you're the lady. Here you go" She pulled out a small envelope from the file and handed it over the desk to Jessie. 

Jessie took the note and looked at it. Her hands were shaking slightly. Cara watched as Jessie opened it and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read the note inside. 

_ Dear Jessie, _

I thought that you were only joking about what you said but when you didn't come back I realised that you meant it. So to make your life better, Meowth and I have left. I know that you're life would be much better off without a stupid dork like myself around. We're off to stop Giovanni from destroying the world and we'll probably never see you again. Good luck with your new life. 

From James and Meowth 

P.S. Don't look for us, by the time you get this note we'll be long gone. 

Jessie stared at the note with teary eyes. Cara noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"What's wrong?" 

"It's James. He... he's after leaving" Jessie faced Cara. "He's gone!" At saying that Jessie broke into tears. 

Cara wrapped her arms around her new friend. She frowned as Jessie sobbed into her shoulder. _'I'm sorry Jessie'_

~*~*~ 

Jessie spent the next few days locked in her room. She woke up crying and cried herself to sleep at night. She wouldn't come out of the room or eat anything, despite Cara's constant pleading. On the fourth night, around eight o' clock, Jessie finally unlocked the door. She went down the stairs and found Cara sitting in the living room. She stopped in the doorway. 

Cara looked up and saw her. She immediately got up and went over to her. "Jessie, thank goodness you came out of that room! I've been worried sick about you. You haven't eaten anything in days" 

Jessie examined Cara's face. There was a look of true worry on her face. Jessie gave a weak smile. _'She really does care about me. I finally have a true friend'_ "I'm sorry Cara. I just couldn't face anyone" 

Cara nodded, understanding everything. "Come, you must eat something before you starve" 

Jessie picked away at the food given to her but did eat something to please Cara. She pushed the bowl away and stared into her mug. 

Cara frowned. Jessie looked a mess. Her hair was sticking to her face, which was red. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She suggested that Jessie should take a shower and Jessie agreed. 

She stood in the shower and let the warm water run over her. It felt good and it made her feel slightly better. She stepped out and dried off. She put on a pair of PJs and a dressing gown. She went down to Cara who was watching the television. She sat down and noted the worried expression that Cara's face held. 

"There's no need to worry now Cara. I'm feeling better now" 

"That's not what I'm worried about most right now. Look" She motioned to the TV screen and Jessie looked. The news was on and they were talking about the top story. 

"Today a terrible incident occurred" The screen changed to show the ruins of a city. Jessie watched as it showed burning buildings and people running. There was the sound of marching and next an army of trainers and pokemon came into view. The camera focused on the uniforms and Jessie knew them straight away as Team Rocket uniforms. "Team Rocket has declared war. All over the world cities are falling and hundreds are being killed as we speak. It seems that their leader will not stop until he has total control over the world. Trainers all over are ganging up to attack Team Rocket, but so far all attempts have been in vain. Is there anything to stop this destruction?" 

Jessie and Cara watched the television with horror. "I knew I should have gone with the twerps to report this!" 

Cara looked shocked. "You knew about this?!" 

Jessie looked to the ground. "I was part of Team Rocket. The reason James was in the hospital in the first place was because we were being hunted down for not agreeing to the war" 

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" 

"I thought that if I did you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore" Jessie looked up to Cara. 

She shook her head. "Jessie, it's too late now but please tell me if anything like this happens again. I could have had Team Rocket attack my house for you!" 

"I know! I didn't want to keep it from you but I thought that you'd be safer not knowing!" 

Cara stood up. "Well there's only one thing to do now" 

"What?" 

She looked at Jessie. "You're going to have to forget about James for now and let's kick some Team Rocket butt!" 

Jessie was shocked at Cara. In the short time she'd known her she didn't seem to come across as the kind of person that would fight. _"Guess I was wrong"_ "But how can we?" 

Cara grinned and walked over to a cupboard. She pulled a certain book and the cupboard swung open. She turned to Jessie. "I didn't tell you everything about me either" She went behind the cupboard and came back out with a pistol in hand. She grinned. "I'm a member of the Gun Club and I'm a fully qualified pokemon trainer too. Let's show them what us 'little' girls can do" 

Jessie smiled and stood up. "You're on!" A pokeball wiggled on the mantle piece. It was one of Jessie's. It popped open and a pokemon materialised. "WOBBUFFET!" It cried. Jessie frowned and Cara giggled. 

"Nice Wobbuffet Jessie" 

"Trust me, it can be a right pain in the butt. Wobbuffet return now" Wobbuffet went back into its pokeball and the two of them began planning their strategy of attack. 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

Any reviews are greatly appreciated ^_^ Thank you for reading and more on the way! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 7:25PM, Sunday, 10th November 2002


	6. Part 6

Disclaimer: Pokemon, mine? *Raises eyebrow* Do you _REALLY_ believe that? 

Claimer: All mine! No copy! 

A/N: Sorry this one took longer to do. I kind of got a writer's block ^_^;; Well, here is Part 6 finally. Hope that you enjoy it.   
**Thanks to my reviewers!**

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: You should know them by now ^_^ 

-----   
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #06   
-----

_Last time..._

Cara grinned and walked over to a cupboard. She pulled a certain book and the cupboard swung open. She turned to Jessie. "I didn't tell you everything about me either" She went behind the cupboard and came back out with a pistol in hand. She grinned. "I'm a member of the Gun Club and I'm a fully qualified pokemon trainer too. Let's show them what us 'little' girls can do" 

Jessie smiled and stood up. "You're on!" A pokeball wiggled on the mantle piece. It was one of Jessie's. It popped open and a pokemon materialised. "WOBBUFFET!" It cried. Jessie frowned and Cara giggled. 

"Nice Wobbuffet Jessie" 

"Trust me, it can be a right pain in the butt. Wobbuffet return now" Wobbuffet went back into its pokeball and the two of them began planning their strategy of attack. 

-----

_"A month has passed since Giovanni of Team Rocket declared war on the world. Most technology has been destroyed and the world has been plunged into turmoil. We advise all people to find safe shelter and remain there. Trainers all over the world are fighting against the forces but so far Team Rocket have the upper hand...."_

The news reporter droned on about the war. Jessie stood in front of the television set with her arms crossed. She had her hair tied in a high ponytail and her hair draped down to her waist. She was wearing mostly black and other dull colours. Around her waist was a belt with two pokeballs containing her only pokemon at one side and a gun in its sheath at the other side. A person entered the small room. 

"I don't know why they keep telling us the same thing every day. 'Trainers are failing against Team Rocket' is all they say" Cara watched the screen. 

"But after tomorrow that will all change" Jessie leaned against a wall in the cave. They had retreated under ground to continue their planning. There was now an underground colony of pokemon trainers and researchers who were all for attacking Team Rocket. Jessie knew many of the faces, but there was still one that she longed to see. The blue haired man of her life was still unheard from. Cara had told Jessie that he was probably gone, and Jessie was starting to agree. If he had gone and attacked Team Rocket like it said in his note, then it was more than likely that he was dead, along with Meowth. Jessie sighed and this didn't go unnoticed. 

"You're thinking about him again aren't you?" Cara questioned. 

Jessie just simple nodded. She had kept trying to hide it from Cara, but she always saw through her act. _'Guess that I'm not as brilliant an actress as I thought I was'_

"You have to face the facts Jessie. He wasn't at his full health when he went to attack and he was on his own" 

"But he had his pokemon, and Meowth..." 

"Face it Jessie. I'm sorry to say but James is gone!" Cara's voice was stern. 

Jessie stayed silent. Cara was right, James must be gone. She wanted to believe it but her heart seemed to think otherwise. There was a silence for a few moments but it was broken by an alarm. Jessie's head shot up. "Intruders!" 

They dashed from the room and ran down corridors that were laid out like a maze to confuse enemies. They rounded a corner into the main hall that was a large cave that they had found. There was a crowd in the middle of the room all in a circle facing in. 

_'They must have caught them'_ Jessie grinned to herself. Their defences were excellent and anyone that didn't know the area quickly got caught in the traps. Cara and Jessie stopped at the edge of the crowd. A couple of the people saw them and quickly stepped out of their way. A path was made through the crowd to the middle where there was a pit. They strolled towards the pit and stopped at its edge. Jessie laughed aloud. 

"So some more Team Rocket spies have tumbled into our den. Well I'm sorry but we can't have that at all" She unclipped a pokeball and her gun. She realised Arbok and it knew what to do. It dropped its end into the pit and wrapped itself tightly around one of the people in the pit. Jessie pointed the gun at the hole as Arbok brought that person to the surface. 

"We're not spies!" 

Jessie lowered the gun a little. She knew that voice. When Arbok had brought them to the top she lowered the gun fully, seeing who it was. "So Twerp, you are the one to find our little hide away" 

Ash stared wide-eyed at Jessie. "Jessie! You're in charge here?!" 

"Why so surprised? Me and Cara here are the best" Cara stepped forward. 

"Jessie, do you know this boy?" 

"We go back a bit" She nodded to Arbok and it released its grip on Ash. He fell to his knees and gasped for breath lost in Arbok's tight wrap. After regaining his breath, he stood up and brushed himself off. 

"So what is the meaning of your visit Twerp?" Arbok kept a close eye on Ash as he started to speak with its master. 

"We heard from a friend that there was a cave somewhere full of powerful trainers grouping to attack Team Rocket. We weren't sure about it at first but I guess it was true" He ran his fingers though his thick black hair and smiled. 

Cara and Jessie exchanged glances. "Who told you this information?" Cara stepped towards Ash and he took a step back, his heel reaching the pits edge. Ash looked down the hole nervously. 

"A friend, like I said. You remember Tracey right Jessie?" 

Cara shifted her glance back to Jessie. "Who's this Tracey?" 

"He's that artist guy that hung around with you in the Orange Islands right Twerp?" 

"Yeah that's him. He said that he was helping out here and that we should come" 

"We?" Cara seemed a little angry. "How many more people know!?" 

"Misty and Brock, my friends down that hole!" Ash was worried about this. Here he was standing at the edge of a pit with an angry person in front of him. Jessie stepped forward and placed a hand on Cara's shoulder. 

"It's alright. They can be trusted" 

Cara relaxed a little. "Are you sure?" 

Jessie nodded and Cara sighed. Jessie called to Arbok and told it to get the others out of the pit. Soon Misty with Togepi and Brock stood behind Ash. Pikachu stood in front of Ash looking around with his beady black eyes. Jessie motioned for them to follow and they did so. Cara spoke with Jessie, asking questions about the trio that had just come in. 

"How come you didn't tell me about them before?" 

Jessie smiled. "Because they beat us every time we tried to capture that Pikachu there. You think I would be proud to say that?" 

Cara giggled. "You have a point. As long as you say we can trust them, then I do also" They entered a small room and Jessie turned to Ash and co. 

"Alright listen up. We don't like any messing around here. Our fight against Team Rocket is tomorrow so you just came in time. It's pokemon inspection time" 

"Pokemon inspection?" Misty asked with her head tilted. 

Cara explained. "We have to make sure that only the strongest pokemon are sent into the battle, along with the strongest trainers. We don't fool around you know. Now let your pokemon out" 

"I wish she'd inspect me" Brock drooled over Cara and Misty sighed. She took Brock by the ear and pulled him off. 

"Time out Brocky boy" 

Cara watched, obviously confused but Jessie told her to forget it. 

Ash pulled all his pokeballs from his bag. He'd gotten Professor Oak to send him all his pokemon when the war broke out and now he and Ash's mother were taking cover somewhere back in Pallet. Ash hadn't heard from them in a while but believed that they were all right. He let out each pokemon one at a time and Cara had a Nurse Joy check them out. It took some time to get through all of Ash, Misty and Brock's pokemon but finally the last pokemon was returned to their pokeball. 

"All these pokemon are in fighting condition and are all very strong" Nurse Joy handed Jessie a clipboard and she read over it. She handed it to Cara and after she'd read over it, she smiled over at Jessie. 

"No wonder you lost to them all the time" 

Ash, Misty and Brock stifled a giggle as Jessie's face went red. Pikachu giggled at the sight and nodded in agreement with Cara. 

"Never mind that. We have plans to go through" She turned to leave. 

"Hey Jessie, where's James? I haven't seen him or Meowth since the hospital" Misty asked. 

Jessie stopped for a moment, back still turned to them. Cara frowned and Jessie walked off again. 

"What did I say?" Misty looked at the others for an answer, but their faces were just as blank as Misty's. Cara turned to them. 

"You have some catching up to do and I'm guessing that I have to tell you" 

Jessie wandered back to her room and sat on the bed. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and read it over. It was the note James had left behind. She crunched it into a ball and tossed it into the bin. She coughed back some tears and stood up. "You're gone and I have to move on. Goodbye James" She whispered to the air and left the room again. 

The sun had just set and darkness covered the land. There was a large building that was Team Rocket's HQ standing out in the dark like a black giant. Hundreds of unseen figures hid in the trees and bushes around the building. Jessie crouched near Cara, Ash, Misty and Brock. Brock was still going goo-goo over Cara and Misty had nowhere to pull him away to so just ignored him. Jessie looked at them. 

"This is it, no turning back now. Is everyone ready?" 

Her group nodded. Jessie could see fire in their eyes, they were all ready to bring Giovanni down once and for all. Jessie nodded too. 

"Okay, on my signal. Ready... set..." 

An alarm suddenly blared from the HQ and lights flashed. 

"They've spotted us!" Misty squealed in fright. 

"They couldn't have!" Cara cried out. 

Jessie pulled out Arbok's pokeball and clasped it. "It's now or never... CHARGE!!!" 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

So what did you think? Please review and tell me ^_^ Thank you for reading and part seven (whoa, I'm that far already?) is on its way as soon as I can write it! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 6:50PM, Thursday, 28th November 2002


	7. Part 7

Disclaimer: MINE YOU SAY?! MINE! I wish! * Goes starry eyed at the thought of owning Pokemon* 

Claimer: Any money made from this belongs to me! 

A/N: First of all, thanks to the people that reviewed my story. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't continue ^_^ Next I'd like to say that I'm getting a writers block lately so please forgive me if this part isn't as good -_-;;  
Anyway, please enjoy, ohh, and **REVIEW PLEASE!** Thankies! 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: You should know them ^_^ 

-----   
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #07   
-----

_Last time..._

"This is it, no turning back now. Is everyone ready?" 

Her group nodded. Jessie could see fire in their eyes, they were all ready to bring Giovanni down once and for all. Jessie nodded too. 

"Okay, on my signal. Ready... set..." 

An alarm suddenly blared from the HQ and lights flashed. 

"They've spotted us!" Misty squealed in fright. 

"They couldn't have!" Cara cried out. 

Jessie pulled out Arbok's pokeball and clasped it. "It's now or never... CHARGE!!!" 

-----

There was an eruption of cries from the trainers that were waiting for Jessie's signal. They poured out from the surrounding foliage and charged towards the HQ. Two Team Rocket trainers were standing on guard on the roof. They watched wide-eyed at the approaching army of trainers. 

"Where did they come from!?" One cried over to the other while backing away from the edge. 

"I've no idea! They must be with that other guy that set off the alarm! We've got to warn Giovanni at once!" They dashed inside and down a flight of stairs. 

Giovanni sat in his office watching security cameras. His forehead was lined with angry furrows as the bombardment showed up on camera. The two guards burst in the door, panting. 

"Sir!" 

"I know already. Why didn't our equipment detect them? First we have that intruder snooping around and now this!" 

"We're sorry Sir. We don't know why our systems didn't pick them up" The two men took a step back. It was known that when Giovanni lost his temper, that gun under his desk got some use on something. 

"Well find out why and keep them away!" He angrily growled at them and lowered his hand under the desk. 

"Right away Sir" The two men desperately dashed away as fast as they could, tripping over themselves. They made their way to the computer operating rooms. 

Giovanni picked up a microphone and switched it on. "Rebel forces on the attack. Send out the resistance" He switched off the microphone and settled back into his chair. He patted the Persian next to him, which purred loudly and nuzzled closer. "We'll show those rebels what's what around here" 

Outside, the doors of the HQ opened and Team Rocket members marched out armed with pokéballs. 

Jessie held her gun handle tightly. "They have the pokemon, but do they have the weapons?" She turned back to her group. "Proceed with 'Plan Blasting Off'" She thought the name suited well. She got it from their old line 'Team Rocket is blasting off again!' but this time, it would be for good. "Attack who you must, but Giovanni is mine! ONWARD!" She ran with them and tossed her pokeball. "Arbok, action time!" Arbok materialised and hissed angrily. 

Behind Jessie ran Ash, Misty, Brock and Cara. "Split up" Cara ordered and they did so. Ash let out his strongest pokemon and started ordering them on attacking. 

The air was full of the sounds of pokemon cries and trainers' orders and cries. The numbers on the rebel side were starting to drop slowly but surly. Jessie snuck to the side of the HQ. She pressed herself against the wall and watched as another group of Team Rocket resistance came out from a door on the side and dashed off to the battlefield. She went up and pulled at the door but it was locked fast. "Arbok, Acid attack" 

Arbok slithered up beside Jessie and took a deep breath. It opened it mouth and a gush of black acid shot out. As soon as it struck the metal door it melted into nothing. 

"Good job. Return for now" Arbok slipped back into its pokeball and Jessie crept into the building. She silently ran down the halls, slipping in and out of the shadows. She came to a room and peered in. Inside there was a large gathering of men and women, all wearing the Team Rocket uniform. Jessie pulled back and slipped into an empty room. "I'm going to need back up on this one" She whispered to herself and took out a small radio. "Cara can you hear me?" 

There was a crackling sound of the radio and she waited. Soon a voice was heard. 

"Jessie? I can hear you" The voice was crackled with the radio, but it was defiantly Cara. 

"I'm inside but it's going to be harder than I thought. The place is crawling with Rockets. I need you in here. Bring the Twerps too" 

"Ash, Misty and Brock?" 

Jessie shook her head. "Yes those three. Bring them along with you. What's the situation out there?" 

"Our numbers are starting to drop but the fight is still in its prime" 

"Good, that will cause a great distraction. Hurry in here. Left side of the building there's a metal door. There's a hole melted in it. You can get in that way" 

"All right, over and out" The radio cut off and fell silent. Jessie sat back and sighed. _'I can't do anything for now until they get in here. Or can I?'_ She looked around the room that she had snuck into. She found a filing cabinet and tried to open it. Locked. "Wonder what's in here?" She started to pull at the lock when there was the sound of voices outside the door. She dove behind a couch that was settled at one side of the room. She held her breath as the door was opened and three people entered. 

"This shouldn't take too much longer. Those rebels will regret the day they dealt with me!" 

Jessie knew that voice. Its deep, icy cold attitude. She had no doubt. It was Giovanni. She pulled her knees to her chest and lowered her head in an attempt to make herself as small as she possibly could. The other Rockets with Giovanni spoke up. 

"You have got that right Boss. I don't know what they were thinking when they planned on attacking you" This person was a woman with a seductive voice. Jessie scowled at the sound of it. _"Cassidy, that fat cow!"_ Jessie could just imagine that snotty, blond-haired twit sucking up to the boss. She was the kind of person that would agree with the boss no matter what, just to be in his good books. 

Giovanni nodded, unseen to Jessie. "And what is the update of the intruder? Has he been caught yet?" 

"Not yet Sir" Jessie cringed. That irritating, broken, froggy voice. It had to be Butch. That green-haired man was Cassidy's teammate and together Cassidy and Butch were Jessie and James' biggest rivals. At the thought of James, Jessie's spirit took a drop and she bit her lip to keep tears back. 

"Our camera caught a glimpse of a figure running around the HQ. Whoever they were, they had a small pokemon with them. They kept to the shadows so we couldn't tell what pokemon it was" Butch continued explaining. 

"How did they get in here?" Giovanni yelled at them. Jessie smirked as she heard the two shuffle around. 

"We inspected all the doors but there's no sign of how they got in. We had a truckload of pokemon arrive yesterday, it's possible that they could have snuck in on that" Cassidy sounded a little nervous. 

"Well from now on inspect all deliveries thoroughly before giving them admittance" Jessie heard keys rattling and a lock being opened. The file cabinet was opened and there was rustling of papers. "Put these in the safe in my main office" The papers were handed over and the cabinet was locked again. 

"Right away Sir" Butch and Cassidy replied in unison. They started to leave the room and Jessie relaxed. 

_'I thought they'd find me. Now to get out of here and find the others'_ The radio on her belt crackled and buzzed. Jessie froze as Cara's voice called over the radio. 

"Jessie are you there? Do you copy? We can't find you" 

The half closed door opened again and Butch stepped back in. He looked around the room. 

"Butch? What are you doing? We've got work to do" Cassidy came up behind him. 

"I thought I heard something in here" He croaked. He started to look around the room. 

Jessie grabbed the radio and flipped the switch to off. She held her breath and shut her eyes. _'Don't find me, please don't find me!'_

Butch stood in the middle of the room. "I guess I must have been hearing things" He turned to leave the room again. 

Jessie sighed inwardly. She felt a vibrating feeling on her hip. She looked down to see one of her pokéballs wobbling. Her eyes widened. _'NOT NOW!'_ It was too late for her to do anything. The pokeball opened and out popped her Wobbuffet. It stood beside her and saluted her. 

"Wobba, Wobbuffet" It said happily. 

"Ohh no..." 

"Who's here?" 

-----  
To Be Continued...  
----- 

Yeah! Part seven up and running ^_^ I'll strike a deal with you readers, if I get three reviews, I do the next part. And not all from the same person! Heehee, you know who you are ^_^ So until then, happy reading! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 6:35PM, Sunday, 8th December 2002


	8. Part 8

Disclaimer: Pokémon ain't mine, WHAAA! 

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this part up. I couldn't seem to get around to typing it up. I'd like to thank my reviewers! You guys are what keep me going! You're the stars!   
And now, on with part 8! 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

Ages: You should know them ^_^ 

-----   
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #08   
-----

_Last time..._

Butch stood in the middle of the room. "I guess I must have been hearing things" He turned to leave the room again. 

Jessie sighed inwardly. She felt a vibrating feeling on her hip. She looked down to see one of her pokéballs wobbling. Her eyes widened. _'NOT NOW!'_ It was too late for her to do anything. The pokéball opened and out popped her Wobbuffet. It stood beside her and saluted her. 

"Wobba, Wobbuffet" It said happily. 

"Ohh no..." 

"Who's here?" 

-----

"I knew there was someone in here!" Butch re-entered again for the third time and looked at the Wobbuffet. "Where did you come from?" 

Wobbuffet, not knowing the situation they were in, pointed to Jessie behind the couch and smiled. "Wobba wobba" 

Jessie cursed under her breath and, having no other choice, stood up and faced Butch. She put her hands on her hips and grinned at him. "Hello Buzz, bet you didn't expect to see me" 

Butch growled. "The name's not Buzz! It's Butch!" 

"Ohh I am sorry. My mistake. I thought of you more of a bug than a dog. Though you sound more like a sick frog" Jessie smirked. 

"How dare you! You should be dead! Those Grunts said that they had finished you off in the woods!" Butch clenched his hands in fists and glared at Jessie who was remaining calm though all of this, which was getting on Butch's nerves. 

"Well they were only protecting their own hides from the boss I suppose. You are all a bunch of Yes-men to that so called 'Great Rocket Leader'. None of you have any guts to stand up to him" She crossed her arms across her chest. 

Wobbuffet stood next to its trainer and looked at Butch. Then it suddenly pointed and cried out in surprise "WOBBUFFET!" 

Jessie rolled her eyes and sighed. "So you finally remember him. Too late for that you dope" Wobbuffet lowered its head in shame. 

Butch looked around as if looking for something. "So where is that James guy you hang around with?" He was a little nervous, expecting a sneak attack to come from somewhere in the room. 

Jessie frowned and lowered her gaze to the ground. Butch noticed this and grinned. "James is dead isn't he?" 

Jessie shot a glare of anger at Butch and clenched one hand in a fist, biting back the tears threatening to escape from her eyes. "He isn't dead!" She knew she was lying to herself, she was just wishing that Butch would believe her. No such luck. His grin spread wider as he stepped towards Jessie. 

Her heart began to beat faster and she took a step back. Butch kept advancing on her until her back was against the wall. Butch grabbed her shoulders in a strong grip and leaned in closer to her. 

"You know Jessie, I've always liked you" He said while looking down and eyeing her body. He looked back to her face. "Cassidy is great and all, but she cares more for the Boss than for me. I want a woman with some spunk" He leaned his face closer to hers. 

Jessie struggled under his grip trying to escape but she had nowhere to go. She turned her head away from him. "You mean she calls out the boss' name instead of yours when in bed right?" 

Butch narrowed his eyes. "The boss only uses her for his own pleasure. She's convinced that he loves her. What a fool she is" He grabbed Jessie's chin and turned her back to face him. He pressed his lips against hers and closed his eyes. 

Jessie felt her stomach twist and she felt as if she was going to throw up. She had to get away from him. Thinking fast she kicked her knee up and it connected with Butch's manly hood area. 

He broke away from Jessie and stumbled back holding his area. He fell back and lay curled up on the floor, groaning in pain. Jessie tossed her hair and grinned down at him. She wiped her lips on her sleeve. "No wonder Cassidy doesn't like you. You're a horrible kisser" She looked behind her to see Wobbuffet standing here. "Thanks for your help" She said sarcastically and Wobbuffet smiled. It gave her a salute and cried "Wobbuffet" Jessie rolled her eyes and returned the Pokémon to its ball and clipped it onto her belt. She started to walk past Butch towards the door. She gave a slight gasp as a strong hold was placed around her ankle. 

Butch stood up and grabbed her wrist roughly. "No body does that to me and gets away with it" He hissed into her ear. He pulled her arm up behind her back and held it there. Jessie cringed as a pain went up her arm. 

"Let me go Butch!" She tried to kick him but he pulled at her arm and she was unable to do anything. There was an echo of high heels coming down the corridor and the door creaked open. Jessie's blond haired adversary entered the room and looked around. 

"Butch what on earth are you doing in here?" Cassidy rounded the door and stopped. A grin spread across her twisted face at the sight of Jessie in Butch's grasp. "Well, well. So little Jessie still lives. How did you get in here?" 

Jessie turned her head away and refused to talk to Cassidy. She gasped as Butch pulled at her arm again. 

"I caught her in here snooping around. Her Wobbuffet gave her away by popping out of its ball. Should we take her to the boss?" Butch looked to Cassidy over Jessie's shoulder. 

Cassidy rubbed her chin with her gloved hand and smiled. "Not only have we caught Jessie, but I bet she's that intruder that set our alarm systems off. Boss will be so pleased!" She clasped her hands together and grinned. 

Butch nodded. "I hadn't thought of that. We should get a really large raise for this" He jerked Jessie's arm and made her stumble forward. "Come on you. Time for you to re-meet the boss" He pushed her out the door and started down the corridor. Cassidy walked beside Jessie grinning. 

"So you thought you could stop us? HA! You were always pathetic but I didn't think you could stoop this low" 

"At least I worked for the boss' respect and I didn't sleep with him for it" Jessie spat out at Cassidy who looked surprised. 

"How did?" 

"Ohh come on Cassie, you went around him with that stupid, goofy expression" Jessie gasped as Cassidy punched her into the stomach. Butch let her go and she fell to her knees and gasped for breath. Cassidy stood looming over her. 

"He loves me! He does!" She yelled at Jessie. "He loves me and hates you!" 

"Stop fooling yourself Cassidy" Jessie stood up and faced off with Cassidy. "You might have shown him affection, but when has he ever returned it to you?" 

"He... when..." Cassidy drifted off and looked at the ground. 

"He doesn't love you Cassidy, face the facts!" 

"He does love me. You're just jealous!" Cassidy jumped at Jessie and swung out for a punch. Jessie saw it coming and ducked out of the way and delivered a blow to Cassidy's stomach. Cassidy fell over clutching her stomach and her face was skewed up with pain. She wasn't as strong as she made herself out to be. Butch came up behind Jessie and made a move to grab her. Jessie spun around and kicked him to the head, knocking him to the side. 

"And as for you _Butch_, you can never have me" She kicked him into the side and he was down and out. Jessie looked around the corridor. It wouldn't be long until she would be found. She turned on her heels to run off when she saw a folder of papers lying on the ground beside Cassidy. She stooped down and picked them up. She was about to open the folder when she heard footsteps. She dashed down the corridor and kept running for a while. She found a small closet and slipped into it. She left the door slightly ajar and peered out. Four figures came sneaking down the hall in the shadows. She watched closely as they stepped into the light. She sighed with relief. It was Cara and the others. She pushed the door open and crept out. "Cara!" She called in a loud whisper. 

Cara spun around and smiled when she saw Jessie. She ran over and gave her a big hug. "Ohh Jessie we were all so worried! When the radio cut out we were afraid that you had been caught!" She let Jessie go and stood back. Jessie tilted her head. 

"You almost did get me caught! Cassidy and Butch found me. I got away though" 

Cara's face fell. "Ohh we're sorry Jessie! We didn't know" 

Ash stepped forward. "Where are they now?" Pikachu sat atop his trainer's head and perked his ears. 

"They are only a short bit away. We'll have to get a move on. They are bound to inform Giovanni about me" Jessie frowned. She knew this would be hard but she was starting to feel tired already. 

"Well then what are we waiting for? We have to get going before it's too late" Misty spoke up. "But where do we go now?" She looked around. 

"Yeah. This place is so big we've already lost our way back to the door that we came in through" Brock said in his deep husky voice. He was keeping close to Cara and in every spare moment was gazing longingly at her. Cara hadn't noticed it much, but everyone else had. 

Jessie took the folder out and looked at it. "This was locked in a file cabinet and Giovanni seemed quite keen on keeping it safe. Wonder what it is?" 

"Just open it Jessie" Ash told her, sounding a little excited. Misty sighed and gave Ash a little bang on the head with her fist. "OW! What was that for?" Ash moaned while rubbing his head. Pikachu had jumped off before Misty had struck. 

Misty shook her head. "This is serious Ash! Stop being so childish!" 

"I'm not being childish! I was just wondering what was in the folder!" Ash and Misty stared at each other. Jessie and Cara exchanged amused glances. 

"Hey lover birds. We've work to do" Cara stated with a grin. Ash and Misty both blushed and turned away from each other. 

"Me like her? Are you joking?!" Ash crossed his arms and kept his back turned to Misty. 

"For once I agree. Why would I like someone so childish anyway?" 

Jessie smiled, remembering what James was like. He has his childish ways, but she liked them, most of the time anyway. She shook her head. _"No, I have to stay focused"_ "Let's get moving. Standing here isn't getting anything done" Jessie turned and started down another corridor. Cara walked beside her with Ash, Misty and Brock behind. 

Cara turned to Jessie. "So what's in that folder?" she questioned. 

"I have no idea but I'm going to find out soon. But let's do what we came here to do first" Jessie pulled out her gun and grinned. "I'm going to show that Giovanni that you can't try to kill me and get away with it" They rounded a corner and started down a very well lit corridor. When they reached the end there was only one door with the nameplate of 'Giovanni, Team Rocket Leader' on it. The group stopped and looked at it. Jessie looked behind her. "You guys stay here. I'm taking him down on my own" 

Ash stepped forwards. "Not without me you're not. I want to get Giovanni back for trying to capture my Pokémon all these years" 

Jessie was going to object but Ash stood his ground. She gave in to him. "Alright, you Twerp can come, but the rest of you stay" 

Ash scowled at Jessie. "Come on Jessie. I call you by your name, why can't you call my by mine?" He crossed his arms. 

"I never really though about that. And I'm too busy to now" She smirked and faced the door. "Ready... Ash" 

Ash smiled and stood next to her. "Yup. Pikachu?" 

"Pikachu pikapi" Pikachu clenched a fist and nodded. Ash nodded and looked to Jessie. 

"Okay, NOW!" They kicked to door open and dashed into the room. 

"Ash no! Wait!" Misty made a move to run in after them but Brock grabbed her and held her back. 

"Misty, there's no sense in all of us going in. If they need help we're here for them" He felt Misty relax under his grip so he let her go. She stood silently watching the door. 

Jessie and Ash stopped in the middle of the room armed with Jessie's gun and Pikachu's electricity. They looked at the desk with a large armchair turned to them. 

"So Jessie, you still live" Giovanni turned his chair around and faced them. He had a smirk on his face as he looked at them. He looked at Ash. "So this is that boy that you were chasing all this time. What's his name again?" He opened a file that lay on the desk and looked it over. "Ahh yes. Ash Ketchum from Pallet town. You've made quite a name for yourself young man" 

Ash narrowed his eyes and scowled at Giovanni. "At least it's for the right reasons I've made myself known. Your name doesn't bring anything but hate to someone when it's said" Pikachu growled from Ash's shoulder. Giovanni chuckled. 

"But that's the kind of reaction I have been working towards. You should be proud to have Team Rocket take such interest in your Pokémon as to have them be chased for four years" Giovanni rested his elbows on the desk. 

Jessie raised her gun and pointed it to Giovanni's head. "You're just stalling. Enough talk from you. Any last words?" Jessie readied the gun. Her finger just barely touched the trigger, ready to pull it back and to unleash the killing power from within. 

Giovanni closed his eyes and nodded. "I do, just one. It is... NOW!" He yelled. A cage fell through a door in the ceiling and slammed down around Ash and Jessie. 

Jessie pulled the trigger and there was a loud bang, followed by a clink sound. Jessie looked down and saw the bullet lying on the ground inside the cage. "What?" 

Ash placed a hand on one of the bars and yelped. He pulled it away quickly and rubbed it. "There's some sort of field around it" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and charged up. He fired a Thunderbolt at the cage but it just fizzled out. 

Giovanni laughed and stepped out from behind his desk. He walked over with his hands behind his back. "You can't get out of there so don't even try. The only way out is..." He paused. "Actually, I don't think I will tell you. Made that mistake before" He grinned and started towards the door. "Ohh and if you are looking for your friends for help, you won't be getting it. They've be caught and locked up. Soon the electricity in that cage will build up and you'll be in for quite a shock. Good day" He left and shut the door behind him after his Persian had exited. 

"Now what do we do?" Ash frowned and picked up his Pikachu and patted his head. 

"I don't know" Jessie sighed and lowered the gun. "I guess that we've failed and now we're going to die" She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at Ash. 

He smiled at her. "Don't worry Jessie, we'll get out of this somehow. Just don't give up" 

"Thanks Twe- I mean, Ash" They smiled and then turned to the cage. The door behind them creaked open and somebody came in. They spun around and came face to face with a cloaked figure with a hood covering their face with shadows. When the person spotted them they seemed to pause as if surprised. Jessie looked the person over and noted the strong, athletic build of a young man. 

"Who are you?" Ash questioned with Pikachu in his arms. 

"I am..." The man took a hold of the side of his cloak and pulled at it. He wanted to do a dramatic unveiling of his identity but he goofed up. He was standing on one end of it and he pulled his feet from under himself. He landed with a thump and groaned, his face still covered. 

Jessie smirked and crossed her arms. "Nice entrance" Ash chuckled with Pikachu as the man stood up. The cloak fell off and Jessie gasped. Ash looked over and his jaw dropped. 

"J...James?!" 

-----   
To be continued...  
-----

So how was that one? It wasn't my best but it's not too bad ^_^ I hope... So, how about maybe, three or four reviews to continue? Thankies ^_^ Till next time! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 11:50 a.m, Sunday, 22nd December 2002


	9. Part 9

Disclaimer: Pokémon doesn't belong to me. 

A/N: My last part wasn't very good, a little drawn out but I'm hoping that this part will be better ^_^ Thanks to all my reviewers! 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

-----   
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #09   
-----

_Last time..._

"Who are you?" Ash questioned with Pikachu in his arms. 

"I am..." The man took a hold of the side of his cloak and pulled at it. He wanted to do a dramatic unveiling of his identity but he goofed up. He was standing on one end of it and he pulled his feet from under himself. He landed with a thump and groaned his face still covered. 

Jessie smirked and crossed her arms. "Nice entrance" Ash chuckled with Pikachu as the man stood up. The cloak fell off and Jessie gasped. Ash looked over and his jaw dropped. 

"J...James?!" 

-----

Jessie was dumbstruck for a little while but then she snapped out of it. "James! I thought you were dead!" 

"Dead? Who would you think that?" His expression dulled to a scowl and he took his gaze away from her. "Ohh never mind. I know why. A stupid dork like who you thought I was would have gone and attacked Team Rocket straight after coming out of hospital. Well this is news to you Jessie but I'm not that stupid!" He crossed his arms and glared at Jessie harshly. 

Jessie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The look he was giving her made her feel really uncomfortable. 

"Could you get us out of here James?" Ash asked, breaking the silence. He had to do something to get them talking, or at least to get out of the cage. 

James looked over to Ash and Pikachu and smiled. "Sure thing Ash. You'll be out in a matter of minutes. My assistant is already on the job" He nodded towards Giovanni's desk. 

Ash looked over and caught the glimpse of a Meowth's tail. Pikachu jumped from Ash's arms and wandered over to the side of the cage. He twitched his ears. "Pikachu?" 

"Hold yer Ponyta there kid" Meowth jumped up onto the top of the desk and looked over at them. He had a Meowth-sized black cloak on and gloves to match. 

"Well you two sure look the part" Ash grinned in amusement. They always did like to look at their best and they always seemed to have some sort of outfit for every occasion. 

"Just because there's a big war going on doesn't mean we should loose out fashion sense" James explained while Meowth turned back to working on the small control panel on the desk. 

Jessie stood there in silence. She looked at James with sad eyes but he didn't even glance in her direction once. She watched Ash and James talking as if they were old friends and not adversaries. _'Is he ignoring me?'_ She crossed her arms and waited for a moment. "So James, Meowth, where have you two guys been the last few months?" 

She waited for an answer but she didn't get one. With her temper rising she walked over to the side of the cage nearest James. "Didn't you hear me? I asked where have you been?" 

"That lock almost opened yet Meowth?" James walked away from her and over to Meowth. He leaned on the desk with his back turned to Jessie. 

She growled angrily. _'Nobody ignores me! Not even HIM!'_ She clenched her hands in tight fists by her sides and glared at the back of James' head. Ohh how lucky he was that there was a cage between them, for his sake. 

Ash looked from James to Jessie and back again. He crouched down next to Pikachu and whispered to him, "You think we should interfere?" 

Pikachu shook his head. "Pikachu pikapi. Pika pika pikachu chu chu pichu pika" 

Ash nodded in agreement. "Yeah you're right. It's none of our business" He stood up straight again. "That lock done yet? We need to go and find the others" He was worried about them. Who knows what Giovanni is putting them through as they spoke? Almost as if it were timed, the electric field around the cage cut off and the cage began to rise back up into the ceiling. James turned to them. 

"Let's waste no time. Giovanni could be anywhere in the building and so could your friends. Let's go" James fixed his cloak on his shoulders and pulled the hood over his head, covering his facial features in shadows once more. Meowth leapt off the desk and followed James out the door. 

"Fine with me" Ash waited for Pikachu and then looked back at Jessie. She was still glaring at the spot where James had just previously occupied. He went back and waved a hand in front of her face. "Jessie?" 

She snapped out of it and shook her head. "Huh?" 

"Are you coming or what?" Ash turned and left the room after James. 

Jessie followed close behind them. She glared at James and so wanted to run up and grab him by his collar. She looked down at the small feline Pokémon following James and scowled. _"Big shots, that's what they are"_ Even if she kept giving out about them, deep down she was really relieved to see both of them. 

"So you have any idea where they are keeping the others?" Ash questioned James and Meowth, hoping that one of them would have some clue. 

"Probably in dat cage room we found a while ago, right Jimmie boy?" Meowth looked up to his friend. 

"You're right Meowth. It was empty an hour ago but they could be in there now" He pulled out a remote and looked at the screen. There was a small flashing red light on it. "We had better find them fast" 

"Why? What's going to happen?" Ash felt his stomach tighten. Pikachu perked his ears. 

"We've set a bomb up and it's set to go off in around ten minutes" James shoved the remote back into his pocket and sped up the pace. 

"What?! Well then hurry!" Ash looked straight ahead with a look of worry and fear. If they didn't find them and get out in time, the game's up. 

Jessie pulled out the folder she had been carrying around and opened it. She pulled out a couple of bits of paper and looked them over. They were plans for a type of pokéball that would catch any and every Pokémon that it came in contact with. It was like an advanced version of the Master Ball she had heard about. There was a note at the end that said that every pokéball could become an Advanced Ball, as they called it. All that had to be done was to change one or two wires in the ball. She put the papers back into the folder, closed it and looked up. Ash, James and Meowth were already at the end of the hall. She ran after them. 

It took another couple of minutes to find the room they were looking for. Once inside the room they were met with two Rockets guarding a cage with Cara, Misty and Brock inside it. 

Ash smiled over at his friends and ran over to the cage. He grabbed the bars and looked through them. "You guys okay?" 

Misty sighed when she saw Ash. "You're all right!" 

"Yeah, but not for long" One of the Rockets chuckled and grabbed Ash by the arm. Ash pulled away but the grip was too tight. The Rocket grinned but suddenly was struck on the side of his head and was sent tumbling to the ground. He lay there in a groaning heap. 

Ash looked over and saw James land after his flying kick. "Thanks" 

"No time for thanks. Get them out" James turned to the other Rocket and started on his attack. 

Cara looked through the bars at the man with the cloak. "Ohh, who is that?" She asked herself and grinned. 

Ash looked back. "Jessie, give me a hand here" He pulled out two pokéballs and let out his Quilava and Feraligatr. He used the old technique of heating up the bars with flamethrower and cooling them fast with water gun. 

Jessie let Arbok out and it tackled the weakened bars, breaking through them. She turned around just as the second Rocket feel to the ground with a thump. 

James turned to the group. "Let's get out quick" 

"But shouldn't we find Giovanni first? That's the whole reason we came in here in the first place!" Misty and Brock nodded in agreement with Cara. 

"You can't stay. There's a bomb here and it's going to go off in..." James looked at the remote again. "Four minutes" He wasn't going to hang around so he and Meowth quickly took off down the halls towards the front door. 

The group followed without a word as they all ran. They reached the front doors and looked at it. They were two sturdy steel doors that looked almost indestructible. Ash had his Pokémon try the flamethrower/water gun combo but it didn't work. 

"Ohh great. Now how are we going to get out of here?" He returned his Pokémon to their pokéballs. 

"Ehh, how about dis?" Meowth pushed a button by the door and it began to open. "Honestly, you twerps can be so blind" He shook his head and headed out the door. Outside the air still rang with sounds of the battle. 

"We have to get them away from here" Jessie told Cara who agreed. 

"Dragonite go!" Cara tossed a pokéball and her Pokemon came out. "You guys get to cover, I'll get our people to get away" She leapt up onto Dragonite's back and took off. She flew over the battlefield warning the rebels to get away. 

While they were running James looked at the remote. "Five, four, three, two and..." There was a huge explosion behind them. The force of the blow knocked everyone to the ground. They covered their heads in an attempt to protect themselves. 

Jessie felt someone covering her during the explosion. When the worst of it was over they sat up. She felt the person getting off her and she looked up to see James. 

He blushed a little, which could still be seen even with the hood covering his face. "Ehh, sorry" He got up and started to walk away. 

Jessie stood up and faced him. "That's right, just walk away like you did before. Like a coward" 

James stopped and stood still for a moment. He spun around and faced her. "I'm a coward? I should think not" 

Cara looked to Ash and asked, "Who's that guy she's fighting with?" 

"That's James" 

Misty and Brock looked at Ash. "Are you sure? Jessie said he was dead" 

"Well he isn't. That's James all right and there's Meowth" He pointed to the Pokémon clambering out from the bushes. They turned their attention back to Jessie and James. 

"Yes you are a coward! You ran off after one little fight!" 

"You know why! If you ever cared for me in the least you wouldn't have said what you did and not come back to apologise!" James pulled the hood from his face and stared at Jessie in the eye. 

Cara's mouth dropped. "That's James!? Wow!" She grinned at the blue haired hunk that she was watching. Brock looked at her and frowned. 

"The only reason I said those things was because I was trying to cover up the fact that I did like you and I didn't come back straight away because I was afraid that you would hate me!" Jessie wiped her eyes and lowered her gaze to the ground. 

"What?" James' expression softened and he stood looking at her. "Is that true?" 

"Yeah" She looked back up to him. "I've never been good at expressing my emotions you know that. Meowth just got me angry. The reason I said what I did was because I was scared that you wouldn't wake up. But then you did and.." 

James walked over to her and took her hands in his. "Just answer me this Jessie. Did you really mean all those bad things you said about me?" 

"No" She choked out. 

"And do you like me?" 

"No I don't like you James" 

He closed his eyes and dropped her hands. _"I knew it"_ He turned to leave but Jessie caught his arm. He turned around and looked into her deep sapphire eyes. _"Why's she smiling?"_

"I don't like you, I love you" She smiled and turned him to face her. 

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I love you too Jessica. I always have and I always will" 

"Same here James" They pulled apart and kissed. 

Misty clasped her hands together. "Ohh that's so sweet!" She looked at Ash and smiled. "Ohh Ash" 

He was smiling at Jessie and James when Misty called him. He looked over and was about to ask he what she wanted when Misty grabbed him and pulled him to her. She smiled at him, closed her eyes and kissed him. Ash looked around the best he could, totally confused and blushing madly. Then he closed his eyes and returned her kiss. They pulled apart and smiled at each other. "Hey, that wasn't too bad" 

Misty shook her head and smiled at him. 

Brock tossed his arms in the air. "Ohh I give up" He grabbed Cara and kissed her while leaning her back. He pulled her back up and let her go. 

"Brock! What was that for?" Cara looked at him a little shocked. 

"I donno. Seemed like it suited the moment" He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him. 

Jessie, James, Ash and Misty laughed at them. Pikachu and Meowth nodded to each other and joined in. 

After the laughter died down Jessie stood facing them and clapped her hands. "All right then everyone. This scene is getting way to mushy. Let's round everyone up and have a party! Giovanni is dead!" 

"Don't be too sure about that" 

They all looked over and saw Giovanni standing there with Cassidy and Butch, along with a couple more Rockets. They were covered in dirt. 

"We're not done yet" 

They two groups scowled at each other and prepared to fight, again. 

-----   
To be continued...  
-----

Yeah! They all like each other! Well, not counting the Rockets ^_^ Please review! Three or more to continue. The next part will probably be the last one. Thanks! 

~Ashla~ 

Finished: 11:35 p.m, Tuesday, 31st December 2002


	10. Part 10

Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine. 

A/N: Well here we go, the final part to this story's saga ^_^ I don't know if you noticed or not but I made a little boo-boo in the last part with Cara. I won't blab on so enjoy the finale of 'Love not War, Friend not Foe!'   
Note: Some violence in this chapter! Little bit of cussing too. 

_'Thoughts are like this'_

-----   
Love not War, Friend not Foe   
Part #10   
-----

_Last time..._

After the laughter died down Jessie stood facing them and clapped her hands. "All right then everyone. This scene is getting way to mushy. Let's round everyone up and have a party! Giovanni is dead!" 

"Don't be too sure about that" 

They all looked over and saw Giovanni standing there with Cassidy and Butch, along with a couple more Rockets. They were covered in dirt. 

"We're not done yet" 

They two groups scowled at each other and prepared to fight, again. 

-----

Thick, black smoke and dust floated up into the air and fires crackled around what used to be the Team Rocket Headquarters. The cries of frightened wild pokémon filled the air along with the cries of injured Rockets that were unlucky to get caught in the intense explosion. 

Not far from the ruins stood a group of figures, six facing off against six, scowls of anger upon each face. The wind picked up and blew clouds of dust across the area. 

Jessie stood next to her beloved, James, her hand holding his tightly. _'How did he get away? He should have been blown to pieces'_

Giovanni smirked at the young group attempting to defy him. "That was some explosion you planted but it doesn't do much good if you have a system that detects and explosives built into the building" 

"If you knew about the bomb, then why didn't you tell your rockets?" James stood slightly ahead of Jessie in a defensive manner. 

"It would have wasted too much of my time. They were all expandable in any sense" 

"You're one sick monster!" Ash yelled angrily, his fists shaking in anger. Misty placed a hand on his shoulder and watched the group. 

"And you're one annoying little boy that should have died a long time ago" Giovanni motioned to the Rockets behind him and they started forward, pokéballs drawn. 

"You're out numbered Giovanni, why even try?" It was Cara's turn to speak as she prepared her pokéballs, enlarging them in her hands. 

He laughed evilly and shook his head. "You poor children wouldn't understand any concept of Rocket business. Now please don't drag this out. I wish to be home for dinner" He crossed his arms and signalled the Rockets. Cassidy and Butch faced off against Jessie and James and the other Rockets took to Ash, Misty, Brock and Cara. 

Once again the sounds of battling filled the air. James lunged at Butch and scored a punch to his gut. He spun around, kicked Butch's legs from under him and punched down on his chest. 

It all happened too fast for Butch to know what was going on. First he was facing James and next he was on the ground, his chest on fire and gasping for breath. 

James stood over his long time rival and stared at him with no emotion. "Your time is now Butch, so long" 

They were the final words that fell upon his ears before his whole world went black just after a sheering pain shot through from his chest. His final breath escaped him and his body lay motionless. 

James pulled the impaled knife from Butch's lifeless form and turned to face Giovanni. His deep green eyes stared hard at the man and he took a step towards him. 

Jessie struggled to push Cassidy's Raticate away from her neck. Cassidy chuckled evilly and watched with her arms folded. "That's it my pet, go for the neck!" 

Jessie took deep breaths and held the pokémon off, but it was tiring and its fangs were nearing their target with every passing second. "If only I could reach my pokéballs!" she grunted. As soon as she said that, her pokéballs wobbled and her pokémon emerged. Arbok hissed menacingly at Cassidy and slithered towards her at high speed. 

Cassidy screamed as the large serpent closed in on her. "Raticate! Help me!" 

Her Raticate jumped off Jessie and charged towards Arbok with its fangs bared. Jessie scrambled and stood up, her gun slipping from its place and falling to the ground. "Wobbuffet do something!" 

Wobbuffet looked at her and shook its head. Jessie grumbled. "I forgot, you can't attack first" 

Arbok sensed the oncoming attack and just as the large rat leapt up and lunged at Arbok's head, it ducked and let the pokémon soar over it. The Raticate landed and spun around to face Arbok. Big mistake. Arbok was enraged and didn't hold back on attacking. Soon the body of an unconscious Raticate lay on the ground. 

Cassidy looked over at Jessie with a pale face. Giovanni had only given her one pokémon to use. 

Jessie walked over and stood next to Arbok. "Cassidy, surrender now or you will face the same fate as Butch over there" She pointed to the lifeless body not far off. 

Cassidy looked over and once her eyes set upon Butch, she screamed. "Butch!" Tears streamed down her face and she sharply turned back towards Jessie. "You bitch!" She ran at Jessie but never reached her. Arbok had grabbed her and was now holding her in a tight wrap. She squirmed and tried to escape. 

Jessie looked at the young blond. "Cassidy, do you give up?" 

"Never to you! Over my death bed!" She screamed at Jessie, tears of anger and sorrow on her cheeks. 

"Have it your way. I'm sorry Cassidy" She nodded to Arbok and turned away. There was a quick snap followed with a gasp and a thump as Cassidy's body fell to the ground. Jessie shuddered and clenched her hands in fists. "I'm sorry..." She mumbled again and then turned back to help the others. 

James gasped and skidded across the ground. He pushed himself up and faced Giovanni and his Nidoking. His arm ached from the blow he'd received. _"There's no way I can beat him on my own"_ He fingered a pokeball that lay on his belt. 

"You're done for boy. Nidoking, Horn drill that wimp!" The pokémon roared and charged at James with a spinning horn. James just managed to dodge the attack and landed a safe distance away. 

"My turn Giovanni" He pulled out the pokéball and enlarged it. "I choose you Growley!" When the bright light faded an Arcanine stood tall. It growled deeply at its opponent. 

"Ha! You think my Nidoking will be affected by fire?! You're stupider then you look" Giovanni smirked and ordered his pokémon to used Hyper Beam. Its horn glowed and it fired the Hyper Beam. 

"Growley Fire Blast!" Growley took a deep breath and fired a Fire Blast at the Nidoking's attack. Both attacks collided and fazed out with an explosion. James' cloak flapped violently in the wind and he covered his face from the dust been blown around. When it had settled he narrowed his eyes. "Giovanni, you're going down!" 

"Do you have any idea how many hopeless people have said that to me? You'll just be another on the list" 

"I don't think so. Growley, Hyper Fire Blast attack!" 

"Hyper Fire Blast?" 

Growley's eyes glowed a blood red colour and he growled. He inhaled a long breath and held it. His eyes flashed and he lowered his head slightly. He raised it again and opened his mouth. A large and overpowering funnel of flames poured forth from the pokémon's opened muzzle and engulfed the helpless Nidoking that stood in its path. There was a scream from within the flames. 

"What manner of attack is this!" Giovanni had to step away from the intense heat. The attack stopped and he opened his eyes again. He stared in shock at the pile of ashes that used to be his pokémon. He looked fearfully at James and his Arcanine. 

"Now as I said, you're going down" James grinned and get ready to prepare an order for Growley. 

"Not as long as I'm still standing" He pulled out a gun and pointed it at James. Wasting no time, he pulled the trigger and there was a bang and a thump. 

Jessie winched at the gunshot and spun around. James' body came to view and she shook her head in disbelief. "James... no!" She ran over to him and fell next to him. She gently lifted up his head and stroked his hair. Memories of back at the cliff when the Rockets first attacked them came to mind. "James, don't you die on me now!" She yelled at him and sobbed. 

Growley lay behind them and whined. 

Giovanni smirked. "Your turn" He pointed the gun at Jessie and started to pull the trigger. 

There was a gunshot and Jessie winced again and kept her eyes shut tight. She waited for some pain but only heard a thump of another body collapsing. She opened her eyes and looked over to see Giovanni lying in a heap, dead. She glanced over and saw Misty holding her gun and standing facing where Giovanni was. 

"Misty?" Jessie gasped. 

Misty dropped her hands to her sides. She looked at Giovanni silently for a moment before laughing. "He's dead!" She threw her hands to the air and cheered. 

Ash ran over and hugged her. "Misty you killed Giovanni! The war is over!" 

Misty laughed again. "It's funny. I thought I could never kill a person but I feel great!" 

"Giovanni wasn't human. Nothing as evil as him could be," Cara said as she placed a hand on Misty's shoulder. 

"Guess you're right" Misty handed Cara the gun and sighed. 

James opened his eyes and groaned. "Great, I missed it" 

Jessie hugged him tightly. "You're okay!" 

"OW! Now if you keep hugging my like that!" He cringed in pain. 

Jessie let him go and giggled. "Sorry. Where'd he shoot you?" 

"Just the shoulder. I'll be fine" He pushed himself up and smiled. "It's all over" 

_Six months later..._

_"Now all the Team Rocket members have been trailed and are heading off to serve a life long sentence in prison. Meanwhile, cites and towns are getting back to what could be called normal after the war. This is Duplica with Ditto, signing off for 'News Now'. Good evening"  
"Ditto!"_

Jessie switched the television off and walked over to the window of the cottage. James and herself had built it after the war and had moved in once James' shoulder was healed up. Beautiful fields of wild flowers surrounded it, a sight Jessie always enjoyed. She looked at a picture and smiled. It was taken the day James was let out after the doctors had fixed his shoulder. The whole group was there. Ash and Misty holding hands, Cara with Brock drooling over her and herself and James in the middle. She loved that picture. 

The front door was opened and closed again. The thudding of footsteps came up the hall. 

"Jessie, where are you?" 

"I'm in the sitting room James" She sat on the windowsill and watched as the sun sank halfway down over the horizon. 

"There you are" James came over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. 

She kissed him back and then looked at him. "Why all the smiles?" 

James was beaming as he looked at her. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you look in that light?" 

Jessie blushed and James took her hand. 

"Jessie, I have to ask you something" 

"Ehh sure. What is it?" She followed as he led her outside and into the patio. "James what's going on?" 

"Ohh nothing" He faced her and smiled again. "I just want this to be right" 

"James you're starting to scare me" She shook her head. 

"Okay. Here goes" He knelt down on one knee and took Jessie's hand in his. "Jessie, I love you more than anything and we've been through so much together. Nothing would make me happier, then you to be my wife" He took out a small box from his pocket and opened it. Inside sat an engagement ring with a diamond the shape of a heart. 

Jessie pulled James up and was grinning madly. "Nothing would make me happier either" 

James took the ring from the box and slipped it into her finger. "I love you Jessie" 

"I love you too James" And with that said, the two kissed in the light of the setting sun. 

-----   
The End  
-----

The end, ohh those words ^_^ Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time peeps! I'm Ashla, signing off... 

Finished: 5:05p.m, Sunday, 12th January 2003


End file.
